Gravity Falls- Once More
by TheReaper51303
Summary: Answer to The Cowardly Christian's 'Shake Up the Falls' Challenge. When Dipper attempts to shut down the portal, he gets sucked in, only to receive a vision of the future and end up back at the start of summer. Armed with a second chance, Dipper is going through it again, smarter, more prepared, and unwilling to bend to those who attempt to get in his way.
1. Chapter 1- Prologue

**Gravity Falls- Once More**

 **Answer to The Cowardly Christian's 'Shake Up the Falls' Challenge!**

 **Challenge- give a vision of Dipper and Mabel's future to whoever you want: Dipper, Mabel, Wendy, Pacifica, Stan, Ford, Soos, etc- You can have it sent to them at any time in the series, or have them sent back in time, or do a Peggy Sue! And have them use this knowledge to shatter cannon!**

 **Also Bill Cipher's threat needs to be taken more seriously!(I'm talking actual full-on Armageddon preparation after his first appearance!) And they need to take Gideon seriously when he sends the creepy letters and hosts his TV show(You don't have to kill him, but the Pines Family have to at least Neutralize him...or make some kind preparation to fight him when he breaks out). EXAMPLE: Mable is forced to take Dipper more seriously and not mess with him to survive or The realization that she and her loved one's might die at the end of the summer make Wendy not so hung up on the whole 'age gap' with Dipper and goes out with him.**

 **Also, the hero's need to be proactive! When Gideon starts sending creepy letters and making television broadcasts, they need to take care of him(kill or neutralize; either works). All that matters is that they strike first at the first sign of trouble; And don't just have them wait around and do nothing!**

 **This is my first attempt at both a challenge and a multi-chapter fanfic, so if I make a mistake, please just tell me so I can revise it.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Gravity Falls or any of its characters, those belong to Alex Hirsch.**

 **Let's do this!**

 **Prologue**

Dipper's world was crashing around him. In the past few hours, government agents and attempted to arrest him, his sister Mabel, and is Grunkle Stan. He and his sister also found Stan's stash of fake IDs and video evidence of Stan stealing radioactive waste. Then, they discovered a large lab hidden behind the snack machine in the Mystery Shack. The top it all off, sitting there on the desk were the other two journals. Dipper began to feel frustrated. How could this have happened? Was anything he knew about his Grunkle real?

"All this time? All this time Stan had them? I can't believe it! Was anything he said to us real? Why would he have those journals?" Dipper cried out in frustration.

"Maybe he was the real author" Soos said trying to justify Stans actions.

"Or maybe he stole them from the author! Maybe the reason he has all this fake IDs is because he **is** a master criminal and this machine is his master plan!"

Dipper opened all three journals to the page with a mysterious diagram on them. He then placed them together to create one complete diagram of a large machine. Shining his darklight on the pages, he, Mabel, and Soos gasped at the word staring back at them.

" **I was wrong the whole time. The machine was meant to create knowledge but it is too powerful! I was deceived, and now, it is too late! the device, if fully operational, could TEAR OUR UNIVERSE APART!"**

Dipper cried out in shock as he read the page. The next page showed an image of the world split in half with the words " **Total Global Destruction** " written underneath it. Dipper continue to read.

" **It must not fall into the wrong hands. If the clock ever reaches zero our universe is doomed."**

The three of them looked up at the clock, only to see that minute-and-a-half remain on the timer.

"It's the final countdown, just like the one they've always sung about!" Soos cried.

Dipper begin to flip through the book, desperate to find a way to shutdown the machine.

"The agents were right! We have to shut it down!"

The three of them ran into the portal room. The entire lab was shaking violently, and the portal was swirling, a red and orange outline along a white circle. Dipper looked around.

"There, quick" he said as he saw a panel that said manual override. The three of them ran over to a large counter, which held three keys in locks.

"Turn these, together". The three of them turn the keys in synchronisation. Behind them, with a loud hiss, a large ball on a staff opened up, revealing a large, red button that was concealed inside it.

"That's it! The shutdown switch!" The three of them ran to and surrounded the button. It continuously flashed, pulsing with a red light.

"This all… stops… now!" Dipper cried out, as he brought his hand down onto the button; only to be stopped when it's Grunkle Stan ran in.

"DON'T TOUCH THAT BUTTON!" Grunkle Stan screeched, gasping for breath. Dipper, Mabel, and Soos turned around and looked at him. Four of them stood there awkwardly, the tension could be cut with a knife.

"Dipper, just back away" Stan said, holding his hands out in front of him. Dipper looked at the button and then back at Stan. "Please don't press that shutdown button, you gotta trust me".

"And I should trust you, why?" Dipper asked before placing his fingers to his temple. "After you **stole** radioactive waste? After you **lied** to us all summer?! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO YOU ARE!"

"Look I know this all seem nuts, but I need that machine to stay on. If you just let me explain-" Stan was cut off by the beeping of his wristwatch. "Oh no. Brace yourselves!"

They all began to scream is the portal sped up, and all four of them lifted into the air by a lack of gravity.

"T-minus 35 seconds" an automated voice stated. All four of them were flung about different parts of the room.

"Dipper!" Mabel cried out. Dipper turned around to see Maple floating in the air with a cable wrapped around her foot.

"Mabel, hurry, shut it down!" Dipper cry it out as he pointed towards the button. This madness needed to stop. He didn't know what this machine was doing, but he knew the author said was dangerous and therefore needed to be shut down.

Mabel grab the cable and used it the grapple down to the button.

"No!" Grunkle Stan cried out as he attempted to push himself off the wall towards the button. Mabel reached the button. "Mabel, Mabel, wait, STOP!" Maple turned to her grunkle just in time to see him get tackled by Soos. "Soos, what are you doing? I gave you an order!"

"Sorry Mr. Pines, if that is your name, but I've got a new mission now; protecting these kids!" Soos said, half in anger, half apologetically.

"Soos, you idiot, let me go!"

Dipper launched himself off the wall towards Grunkle Stan and Soos, and together, the two of them attempted to restrained Stan. Dipper then turn towards his twin sister.

"Mabel, press the red button. Shut it down!"

"No, you can't! You gotta trust me!"

Mabel looked conflicted.

"Grunkle Stan! I don't even know if you're my Grunkle!" She cried out tearfully, hugging the pole in despair. Dipper, Soos, and Grunkle Stan stopped fighting as they saw Mabel begin to cry, her tears floating upward in the Anti-gravity. "I wanna believe you, but-"

"Then listen to me" Grunkle Stan interrupted. "Remember this morning when I said I wanted to tell you guys something?"

"T-minus 20 seconds" the automated voice stated. The four of them screamed again as the portal flashed white. Then, Dipper, Soos, and Grunkle Stan were flying against the wall. Mabel barely hung on to the pole. She raise the perfect and was about to bring it down on the button.

"I wanted to say that you were going to hear some bad things about me, and some of them are true, but trust me. Everything I've worked for, everything I care about, it's all been for this family!"

"Mabel, what if he's lying? This thing could destroy the universe! Listen to your head."

"Look into my eyes Mabel. Do you really think I'm a bad guy?"

"Mabel he's lying! Shut it down now!"

Mabel look back and forth between her brother and her Grunkle.

"Mabel, please!" Her Grunkle beseeched as the automated voice begin to countdown the seconds.

Mabel put her hand on the button, and then looked into her Grunkles eyes. "Grunkle Stan" she said, turning her head away, "I trust you." She let herself float away from the button.

Dipper was devastated. Mabel, his twin sister, had shows in the man who may or may not really be their Grunkle over him. The portal was about to activate, potentially going to destroy them all, and she trusted Stan over him.

With a shout of defiance, and strength he didn't know he had, Dipper pushed himself off the wall and flew over towards the button. He reached it, and that's the counter hit "One," he slammed his fist down onto the button.

Now, Dipper had no way of knowing this, this caused your paradox within the portal, wanting to activate and deactivate at the exact same time. The portal glitched, and, to everyone's horror, Dipper was pulled into the portal.

"Dipper!" Mabel's cry of anguish was the last thing he heard before he fell unconscious.

….

 _ **A forty-something year old Dipper enters his parents house and takes off his fast-food uniform with a sigh as he looks down at his meager paycheck.**_

 _ **A forty-something Mabel (wearing a crazy sweater and surrounded by dozens of cats); looks up.**_

 _ **"Hey Dipping sauce! Guess what!? I made a 50 ft butterfly made of comics...which I then set ablaze! I'm still the goddess of destruction!...also the police are here again to fine us for burning stuff without a permit...also for unintended arson damage to the neighbors house"**_

 _ **"Wait, what!?" Shouts Dipper just as a policeman steps out of the shadows and snatches up Dipper's paycheck.**_

 _ **"Ah, come on man! I worked overtime the whole week at the drive-through to earn that!" Shouts Dipper. But the Officer had already left.**_

 _ **Dipper feels a drop of water on his head...the ceiling was leaking...**_

 _ **"I also created a new water slide for Waddles!"**_

 _ **CRASH!**_

 _ **The ceiling gives way as a giant hog crashes down and breaks the floor; water soaking everything!**_

 _ **The cats scatter in panic; breaking various household objects as they do so.**_

 _ **Mabel laughs at this. "Ah, they're cute when their crazy!" She shouts as she takes a picture of them.**_

 _ **Dipper sighs as he goes to check the emergency fund...only to find it empty...**_

 _ **"Hey Dipping sauce! Can we have Pizza tonight!? Duck-tective will be on!" Shouts the ever cheerful yet oblivious Mabel.**_

 _ **Dipper just hangs his head...and cries…**_

….

Dipper gasped for breath is he suddenly sat up. He looked around, only to see that he was on a... bus?

"Rise and shine Dipping-sauce!" Dipper snapped his head to the side to see me both sitting there, in the same sweater she wore on the first day of summer, smiling at him.

"Mabel! What happened! Where are we! Did we deactivate the portal in time! Where's Grunkle Stan!"

Mabel smiled at him, confused. "Dipper, are you alright? Don't you remember? It's the first day of summer, we're on a bus heading to Gravity Falls, where Grunkle Stan is. What portal? Are you sure you're completely awake? Whatever dream you had must have been cray-cray!"

To say Dipper was confused was to say that water was wet. Somehow, instead of being in the lab, attempting to shut down the portal, he was now on the bus heading to Gravity Falls. He must have somehow travelled in time! And that vision… what did it mean?

"Dipper?" Dipper remember that Mabel was still there, and expecting an answer.

"You're right Mabel" Dipper said slowly "it was one crazy dream." Only he knew it wasn't just a dream. He had a second chance at this summer, and he wasn't going to waste it. First, he was going to think of what that vision was, and what it could possibly mean. Then, he was going to figure out everything Grunkle Stan knew, and find out who that man really was.

He seriously needed the think.

 **Hey guys, TheReaper51303 here, and that's the first chapter of my new story. In this story, I'm going to be fixing many of the things I thought went wrong, or could be improved on, the Dipper is going to be stronger and more independent, less willing to give into his sister, it more willing to treat others as a threat. I haven't completely decided on the pairings, but I'm leaning towards Dipper x Wendy and Tyrone x Pacifica, but that'll come later. Peace out, guys!**


	2. Chapter 2- The Three -Tions

**Gravity Falls- Once More**

 **Here we go! In this chapter, Dipper reevaluates everything about his relationship with Mabel, arrives in Gravity Falls, finds Journal 3, deals with the Gnomes, and confronts Grunkle Stan about the portal.**

 **Disclaimer- I don't own Gravity Falls or it's characters, those belong to Alex Hirsch.**

'Text'- normal text/speech

' **Text'-** words on page/emphasis

' _Text_ '- thoughts

' _Text_ '- flashback

' **Text** '- ? Speaking

 **Last time on Gravity Falls- Once More**

" _You're right Mabel" Dipper said slowly "it was one crazy dream." Only he knew it wasn't just a dream. He had a second chance at this summer, and he wasn't going to waste it. First, he was going to think of what that vision was, and what it could possibly mean. Then, he was going to figure out everything Grunkle Stan knew, and find out who that man really was._

 _He seriously needed the think._

 **Chapter One- Revelations, Infestations, and Confrontations**

Dipper needed to think. He **really** needed to think. Unfortunately, thinking about something important is not something you can really do when you have a hyperactive twin trying to play bus games.

' _Come on, Dipper, think man! you have about 1 hour to reevaluate everything you thought about your life, and Mabel is slowly dwindling away at that time! You need to think of some way to get her to leave you alone, but how?'_

"Hey Mabel?"

"Yeah bro-bro?"

"That weird dream I had made it to where I didn't get much sleep, so I still feel tired. You mind if I go back to sleep until we reach Gravity Falls?*

"Hmmmm… alright, but you got to spend extra time with me when we get there, okay?"

"No problem Mabel. Wake me up when we get there."

' _Huh, that was actually easier than I thought. Then again, this_ _ **is**_ _Mabel were talking about here.'_

As Dipper laid there, pretending to sleep, he began to think back to that vision he saw while inside the portal. He and Mabel looked about 40 years old, but Mabel still acted like her 12 year old self. But why? She should have grown up by then, shouldn't she have?

As Dipper thought, a passage from a book about Enablers and Codependents came to mind (while a large percentage of his book intake was Science Fiction, he still read quite a bit of Non-Fiction). If he remembered correctly, the passage said something like this.

' **Codependency is a type of dysfunctional helping relationship where one person supports or enables another person's drug addiction, alcoholism, gambling addiction, poor mental health, immaturity, irresponsibility or under-achievement.' (1)**

 _'Is that really what I have with Mabel? Do I enable her behavior, up to the point where she never grows up, never marries, an lives with me, forcing me to support the both of us alone?'_

As Dipper looked back on his relationship with Mabel throughout the summer of the previous timeline, he came to the realization that everything book had said fit exactly with his and Maples relationship. He **did** enable Mabel's immature behavior! Giving in to her about Waddles, allowing her to choose her newest crush over something she promised she'd help him with (one of these instances leading to him being possessed by Bill), allowing her to make fun of his height, his voice, his 'Manliness', even instantly forgiving her for things such as the sleepover or what happened in the bunker. Every time he let her have her way, it was another instance of her not being allowed to grow up, to learn that your actions have consequences.

Dipper felt rage boil in his veins. He wanted to scream, lash out at Mabel- only for the rage to disappear as he reasoned that not only had Mabel not done any of those things as of this timeline, but it wasn't her fault. The blame for her growing up the way she did laid solely at the feet of himself, their parents, and everyone else who let her get away with her immature behavior.

Dipper realize that if he wanted Mabel to change, he was going to have to stop enabling her, and actually grow a spine. If he did what he did in the last timeline, and just allow her to get away with everything, she would never grow up. He was going to have to put his foot down with his sibling, even if it meant hurting her feelings in the process. It wasn't something he wanted to do, but if it meant Mabel could come out of her own personal little time bubble and face the world, he do it.

Dipper then turned his thoughts do the biggest thing waking up in a new timeline meant; that he was in a new timeline! He realize he had a second chance to do everything right, do things the way he wanted them to happen.

' _Okay, for right now, I'll just plan what I want to happen for today. Afterwards, I'll sit down and write out a plan to deal with everything that comes up between now and the day the portal activates.'_

With that, Dipper began to mentally create a list of everything he had to do today.

 **First- first impressions. Last time he had kind of brushed off Wendy and Soos, not paying them any mind. He'd even written their names incorrectly into the journal, even though he went back later and fixed it.**

 **Second- the journal. Grunkle Stan forcing him to go outside and put up signs give him a perfect opportunity to go fetch the journal, and while he might have complained about it in the last timeline, he wasn't going to do so now! Also, he'd show Mabel the journal, but probably after dealing with the Gnomes.**

 **Third- the Gnomes. Honestly, he probably wasn't going to change too much about how we dealt with the Gnomes, besides act calmer. Knowing his luck, his hat was still going to be eaten by Gompers, so Stan giving him free one would end up nicely. Not to mention Mabel getting the grappling hook, which, despite its annoyances, did save their lives.**

 **Fourth- Grunkle Stan. After the Gnomes were dealt with, and he and Grunkle Stan were alone, he was going to confront the old man about the portal in the basement. He wasn't going to reveal that he was a time traveler unless absolutely necessary, but he was going to tell that old man everything else he knew, and get some answers out of him!**

' _Okay, so I created a rough outline of what I have to do today. Now, I just have to wait for-'_

"Look, Dipper, we're here!"

' _Showtime._ '

….

 **Time skip brought to you by: The Mysterious Journal Author**

 **Journal Author- My identity is still a secret!**

 **Me- Not for much longer.**

….

Dipper's first few days in Gravity Falls had gone relatively well, if not a little boring. He garnered quite a few strange looks from Mabel and Grunkle Stan (most likely this was due to his enthusiasm to work), but it allowed him to get closer to Soos and Wendy, both of which consider him a friend and we're always pleased to see him. This had the unintended side effect if slightly breaking his soul little by little, as his crush on Wendy had never actually gone away, and in fact had only gotten stronger (due too young Tambry blurting out the fact that young Wendy had thought he was cute during one of their time travel escapades), but his second chance at life had instilled in him the fact that patients was virtue, and thus, he was willing to sit back and wait, manipulating his odds in the meantime.

Going back to Mabel and Grunkle Stan, they both eventually stopped paying attention to his desire to work, Mabel believing his lies that he just wanted experience for later, and Grunkle Stan not questioning free labor.

Dipper's attempts to corner and question his Grunkle about the portal had thus far been unsuccessful, with Dipper being unable to get the two of them alone, and either being blocked by Mabel when trying to sneak out at night, or not catching Grunkle Stan go behind the vending machine.

Dipper still felt conflicting emotions about his Grunkle. On the one hand, he knew about the portal and the fact that he was supposed to be a dangerous machine, even if his redo in time was due to it. On the other hand, he had spent the last few days with his Grunkle, and seen the regular, grumpy old Stan that he knew. Dipper eventually decided to reserve all judgment until he can figure out what the deal was with Stan and the portal.

Dippers unsuccessful attempts at catching his Grunkle at night were not wasted, however. He stayed up late at night, after everyone else had gone to sleep, creating a timeline of the summer that he remembered, plotting out events. He also spent that time considering what, if anything, he would change.

He already acknowledged the fact that at first, events would most likely stay the same, except for things that he had direct control of, such as helping Wendy come to terms with the weirdness of Gravity Falls, instead of letting her, in her words, 'stare at a wall and reconsider everything'.

He also acknowledged the fact that, as time went on and more and more things became different than what he remembered, the timeline would change more and more in response.

One event he knew that had the potential to change everything in the course of the timeline was the day of the carnival. Specifically, Waddles.

Dipper knew that Waddles meant the world to Mabel, and he vowed himself that if he could find a way, he would make sure that Mabel got Waddles and he could win the game for Wendy. However, if it came down to either of them this time around, he would choose Wendy instead of Waddles.

This cycle of working, failing at catching a Grunkle, and planning continued until one fateful day….

….

 **Time skip brought to you by: The Mysterious Journal Author**

 **Journal Author- You'll never find out my identity!**

 **Me- Don't bet on it pal.**

… **.**

The day started out like any other day. Dipper, Mabel, Wendy, Soos and Grunkle Stan were all working in the Mystery Shack. Mabel had just attempted at 'romancing' another boy into a relationship, which failed. Dipper had attempted to admonish Mabel for her Boy Crazy routine (which, in retrospect, actually came off as a little forceful and creepy), only to be brushed off. He did get a good laugh when Mabel did her whole 'I wouldn't be surprised if the man of my dreams walked through that door right now' bit, only for Grunkle Stan to walk through.

"Alright, alright, look alive people" Grunkle Stan belched. "I need someone to go hammer these signs out in the spooky part of the forest".

In the last time line everyone had tried to get out of doing this job, which led to Soos hilariously confirming he was fine with answering something he wasn't asked, and Wendy lazily putting it off by saying she couldn't reach, refusing to get off of her stool.

This time around, Dipper immediately said he would do the job, knowing that last time he got singled out to do it anyway (the irony that he would have probably been singled out this time, especially since he had already shown he was willing to do the work, was not lost on him).

Once outside, Dipper began to hang up signs until he was out of sight of anyone at the Mystery Shack. Once he was certain he was no longer able to be seen, Dipper hid the remaining signs and walked deep into the woods until he arrived at a tree that was forever etched into his memory.

Knocking on the trunk and getting a confirming 'thunk' of the metal, Dipper pried open the panel and flipped a switch on the device hidden inside, causing a panel hidden in the ground behind him to open up, revealing Journal number 3.

Dipper stared at what have been his guide, the object that it caused him to get into and helped him get out of so much trouble… but there would be time for admiring later. Mabel would be coming soon, and Dipper was not willing to show her the journal, not yet.

Dipper quickly hid the journal inside of his vest, then reset everything so that the tree looked just like that, a tree.

With that finished, Dipper went to go sit next to a nearby log, pretending to be staring off into the distance. Luckily, he managed to time everything correctly, because a few seconds later Mabel jumped out from on top of the log, jumpscaring him.

"Hallo" she cried happily. "Whatcha doing, some need thing?"

"M-Mabel! Don't do that, your gonna give me a heart attack!" Even though Dipper new Maple was coming he still couldn't stop himself from getting scared. "A-Anyway, I was just sitting here thinking about the summer so far".

"That's nice Dipper, but we should be heading back to the Mystery Shack. Grunkle Stan was starting to complain."

' _Typical Grunkle Stan. Probably upset that is source of free labor was taking so long.'_ Dipper sighed and begin to stand up, stretching his back.

"You're probably right Mabel, we should be heading back."

With that, two souls left the clearing. Unbeknownst to both of them, soon after, another appeared in the clearing.

" **So, Mason Pines, you have seen what awaits for you, and have been given a chance to prevent it. Yet, you attempt to straddle both worlds, trying to have both your happiness and your sister** ". The being laughed as it's form began to disappear once more into the darkness. " **Enjoy it while you can, for one day, a choice will become inevitable, and we both know what you will choose** ".

The being continued to laugh as it disappeared, leaving no trace that it had ever been there at all.

….

Dipper was sitting in the living room, when suddenly the doorbell rang. Dipper knew who was at the door, but played dumb, knowing he **shouldn't** know.

"Who's that?" He asked.

"Welp, time to spill the beans." Mabel then proceeded to knock over a can of beans. "Boop, beans. This girl's got a date! Woop Woop!" She exclaimed excitedly, jabbing her thumbs towards her for effect.

"Let me get this straight: in the half hour I was gone, you already found a boyfriend?"

"I guess I'm just IRRESISTIBLLLE!"  
she said, flapping her sweater sleeves wildly as she giggled at herself.

The doorbell rang again.

"Oops! Coming!" Mabel said while running, her voice becoming distant.

Dipper pulled himself up up into the chair, mentally preparing himself for 'Norman'. A few seconds later, Grunkle Stan walked in.

"Whatcha doing there, slick?

"Waiting for Mabel, she's apparently got herself a boyfriend".

"Your sister has seemed go try out dating fast, hasn't she" Grunkle Stan said as he moved to stand next to Dipper.

"Heeeyyy family! Say hello to my new boyfriend!" Mabel squealed as she came in with 'Norman'.

"Sup" he said nonchalantly. Dipper and Grunkle Stan returned the greeting.

"We met at the cemetery. He's **really** deep. Oh, little muscle there, what a surprise."

"So, what's your name?" Dipper asked, trying to hide his disgust. Still, he had to admit that Jeff and his gnome's impersonated a human disturbingly well.

"Normal...MAN!" The gnomes exclaim.

"He means Norman".

"Hey there, kiddo. I, uh, think your bleeding" Grunkle Stan said.

"It's jam".

The conversation continued pretty much like what Dipper remembered, with Mabel and the gnomes in disguise eventually leaving to go 'hold hands or something'.

….

 **Time skip brought to you by- The Mysterious Journal Author**

 **Journal Author- Remember, in Gravity Falls, There is no one you can trust.**

 **Me- Apparently, not even someone who you battle a hundred gnomes side-by-side with.**

….

Dipper spent the next few days following 'Norman' and Mabel around. Unlike in the last timeline, instead of doing it to try to prove Norman was a zombie, he instead did it to make sure that Jeff and his crew didn't try to abduct Mabel ahead of schedule.

Dipper had attempted to get Mabel to see that 'Norman' was not what he seemed multiple times. Each and every time he was brushed off. He was beginning to feel a little frustrated, but reasoned that it was just Mabel's naivety clouding her judgement. Even still, he tried (and usually failed) to get Mabel to stop with her shenanigans, up to and including the leaf blower incident.

Dipper listened as the doorbell rang and Mabel ran downstairs to greet 'Norman'. He gave them a few minutes to walk outside, then calmly walked up to Wendy.

"Hey Wendy, mind if I borrow the golf cart? I have a bad feeling about Mabel and Norman".

Wendy looked at him strangely. "Dude, don't you think you're being a little too overprotective?"

"Maybe I am, but I just have a really bad feeling. It's just one of those twin things were you know your twins in trouble."

Wendy tilted her head back in thought, then reached into her pocket, pulled out the golf cart keys, and drop them into Dipper's hand. "Try not to hit any pedestrians!" She said as she walked away.

' _Huh. Thought I'd have to try harder than that. Then again, last timeline she just handed the keys to me after I ranted at her about having to save Mabel from a zombie, so shouldn't be so surprised_.'

Dipper started the cart, pushed his foot down onto the pedal, and flew out onto the road, passing a confused Soos on the way out.

"Dipper, dude, where are you going?"

"I'm going to save my sister from her boyfriend!"

"Do you need anything?"

"No thanks Soos, I'm good!"

….

Driving as fast as he could, Dipper heard his sisters cry for help. Taking a swift turn, he eventually drove into a cave to see Mabel surrounded by a bunch of gnomes.

"The more you struggle, the more awkward this is going to be for everybody" Dipper heard Jeff say. "Just, o-okay, just get her arm there, Steve".

"What the heck is going on here!" Dipper cried out, once again pretending he had no idea what was going on.

"Dipper! Norman turned out to be a bunch of gnomes, and their total jerks!"

"I told you there was something off about Norman, but you didn't listen to me!"

"Dipper, you can say I told you so later! Oh, come on" she cried out that she was tied down to the floor.

"Hey, hey! Let go of my Sister!" Dipper yelled as he walked up to Jeff.

"Oh, ha-ha, hey there" Jeff chuckled nervously. "Ya know, this is all really just a big misunderstanding. You see, your sisters not in danger. She's just marrying all 1000 of us, and becoming our gnome Queen for all eternity. Isn't that right, honey?"

"You guys are all butt-faces!"

"Give her back right now, or… wait a minute you guys are all tiny, there's literally nothing stopping me."

Dipper shoved Jeff aside, undid the wires keeping Mabel tied to the ground, and they both ran off to the cart, buckling themselves in before driving off.

Dipper drove as fast as he could, wanting to put as much distance between them and the gnomes as possible. He soon felt the ground vibrate, and as he looked behind him he saw the giant gnome amalgamation chasing after them.

What ensued next was the chase scene, in which Dipper managed to avoid getting his face mauled by a gnome, but was unable to hold on to his hat. He also, thankfully, managed to avoid crushing the golf cart.

Has the two of them were backed into a corner, Dipper heard Jeff bellow "it's the end of the line kids. Mabel, marry us before we do something crazy!"

"Mabel, do you have a plan?" once again, Dipper had to play dumb, already knowing Mabel had an idea of how to get out of this.

"I gotta do this".

"Mabel, are you sure?"

"Trust me."

"... I do, Mabel. Just… be careful."

Dipper stood to the side as he watched his sister trick Jeff into thinking she was willing to marry him, only to suck him up into a leaf blower.

"Want to do the honours?" Mabel asked.

"On three".

"One, two, three!" Together, the two of them launched Jeff out of the leaf blower and into the chest of the giant gnome, scattering it to pieces, and sending Jeff deep into the forest. Dipper stood back proudly as Mabel chased off the rest of the Gnomes with her leaf blower.

"Hey Dipper. I, um, I'm sorry for ignoring your advice. You really were just looking out for me."

It's alright Mabel, I'm just glad your okay. In the future, however, please just listen to me. Today, you were kidnapped and almost forced to marry 1000 Gnomes, imagine what would've happened if I hadn't gotten there".

Mabel looked at him sadly. "Your right. I'll listen to you more from now on".

"... Awkward Sibling Hug?" Dipper asked as he held his arms out wide.

"Awkward Sibling Hug".

The two of them hugged it out, including the customary 'pat pat' at the end. The two of them walked inside.

Dipper listened as the Grunkle Stan made a joke about their appearance, and after seeing that they weren't in the mood, allowed them to take one item from the gift shop, saying he had overstocked. Dipper grabbed a pine tree hat and placed it on his head, feeling like something that had been missing and now been found. Mabel grabbed the grappling hook and, after grappling one of the rafters and knocking over a shelf, raced upstairs. Dipper then realized it was just him and Grunkle Stan.

"Grunkle Stan, there's something we need to talk about".

"Sure thing kiddo, what's on your mind?"

"What's the purpose of the portal downstairs?"

Dipper saw his Grunkle blanch. "Dipper, I have no idea what-"

"Grunkle Stan, don't lie to me. I know about the Journals, the Author, your fake IDs, the lab behind the vending machine, and the portal, but I don't know how they connect or what it all means, so I need to know; what is the purpose of the portal?"

Grunkle Stan look to the left and right, then leaned over the counter and whispered, "I have no idea how you know all this, but you obviously do. Meet me at the vending machine at midnight."

Dipper nodded, then began to head upstairs. Tonight. All his questions would be answered tonight.

The only question was, did he really want to know the answers?

 **Hey guys, TheReaper51303 here! Thus ends the second chapter of this fanfic, as well as the first episode of the TV show. Next chapter, Dipper and Grunkle Stan talk. Will Grunkle Stan explain the portals purpose? Will Dipper reveal the source of his knowledge? Read to find out!**

 **Next time on Gravity Falls-Once More: Chapter two- Half a Story Can Create Questions…**


	3. Chapter 3- Half a Story

**Gravity Falls- Once More**

 **Chapter Three. It's time! Grunkle Stan tells Dipper the truth of his past, including a six-fingered author. Dipper reveals the truth behind his future knowledge. Together, the two of them concoct a plan to bring back Stanford, ASAP.**

 **Disclaimer- I don't own Gravity Falls or it's characters, those belong to Alex Hirsch.**

 **AN: I am using dialogue from the episode "Tale of Two Stans" for a big part of this chapter, as well as spoiling several future episode, including "Gideon Rising" and "Not What He Seems," so if you don't want spoilers, get off of fanfiction and watch the series!**

 **Notice: slightly revised 1/27/19**

'Text'- normal text/speech

' **Text'-** words on page/emphasis

' _Text_ '- thoughts

' _Text_ '- flashback

 **Last time on Gravity Falls- Once More**

 _Grunkle Stan look to the left and right, then leaned over the counter and whispered, "I have no idea how you know all this, but you obviously do. Meet me at the vending machine at midnight."_

 _Dipper nodded, then began to head upstairs. Tonight. All his questions would be answered tonight._

 _The only question was, did he really want to know the answers?_

 **Chapter Two- Half a Story Can Create Questions…**

 _11:57 pm._ That was what the clock read.

Dipper stared at the clock, half of him wishing it would speed up, the other half wishing it would stop all together.

This was it. Tonight, he would have all his questions answered, all his fears put to rest.

At least, he hoped so.

 _11:58 pm._

What if the agents were right? What if the portal was some sort of doomsday device, and Grunkle Stan really was some sort of criminal mastermind?

What if, when they got down to the lab, Grunkle Stan killed him to keep his secrets under wraps?

What if… what if… what if…

 _11:59 pm._

No. Grunkle Stan wouldn't do that, right? He had been given plenty of chances to do so, both in the previous timeline, and in this one.

True, but you didn't know what you know now last time, did you? He didn't know what you know until now, did he?

He-he wouldn't? He couldn't! Could he?

 _12:00 am._

It was time. He couldn't put this off any longer.

Dipper quietly slid out of bed and put on his vest and hat. He tiptoed his way over to Mabel's bedside, bending down to pick up the grappling hook, which she had thankfully left there. He placed the hook in a pocket inside his vest, opposite to that of the journal. He hoped he didn't need it, but he wasn't going to walk into a potentially dangerous situation without something to protect himself.

Moving as fast as he could without making any noise, Dipper slowly opened the door and left the room, closing it just enough so it was still cracked behind him.

He walked through the house until he found himself standing in front of the vending machine, right next to Grunkle Stan, who was holding an old lantern in his hand.

"Dipper, I gotta ask you something. Are you sure you want to go through with this? If we go down there, you're gonna find out about a lot of things, including my past. Things that might change how you think about me… things that might make you hate me. Is this really what you want?"

Stan's voice was filled with pain, sadness… and fear. Whatever his Grunkle had to talk about, it was not a pleasant topic, but he had to know, he needed to know the truth.

So all Dipper could do was nod.

Grunkle Stan sighed. "All right kid, just… don't say I didn't warn ya."

Stan opened the passageway behind the vending machine. They both walked through it and, after a quick glance to make sure no one saw them, Stan pulled on the vending machine, closing the passageway.

Together, Stan and Dipper descended the dark stairway, each step creaking ominously, the shadows attempting to overwhelm them, only being held back by the feeble light of Stan's lantern. The two of them entered the lift. The doors slowly closed shut, and they rode the lift down in silence. All too soon, they found themselves in the lab.

Stan took two chairs and brought them over to a desk; one a rolly chair, which he promptly flopped into; the other and metal fold-up chair with he gestured Dipper to sit on. The two sat there, the only sound near was that of the many machines surrounding them. Suddenly, Stan coughed, breaking the monotony.

"So, uh. Wanna tell me how you know about-".

"Not until you answer my questions" Dipper interrupted, much to Stan's shock. "What, your surprise I won't tell you? Seriously? Come on man, look around you" Dipper ranted, gesturing to the entire room in which they sat. "You were hiding this from me, from us, and you asked me to trust you? No!" He brought his fist down hard on the desk, resulting in a loud thump.

Dipper took a moment to calm himself down. "The fake IDs, this lab, the journals; I know all about them" Dipper voice could freeze water on a hot day. "What I don't know is 'what does it all mean?' Why do you have all those fake IDs? What's the purpose of the portal? In what way does all of this connect to the journals, and their author."

Stan sighed, leaning back into his chair. "I suppose I should answer that last question first. Help clear up a lot, it'll also help answer the other questions. Ya see, I'm not the author of the journals."

Dipper snorted. Stan shot him a glare, then opened a compartment above the desk, revealing a row of books. He pulled out two.

The first was bound in red leather, with a large, golden, six-fingered hand on the center of the cover. The number one was in the center of the hand.

 _'The first journal'_ Dipper thought to himself. _'But, where is the second one? Grunkle Stan had it last time'._

The second book was a large photo album. Stan opened the book and pulled out a photo.

"The true author of the journals is my twin brother; the **real** Stanford Pines".

Dipper stared at the photo. It was old, obviously taken decades ago. In the photo were two shirtless boys standing on a beach. They were almost identical, having the same hair, same nose, same body; in fact, the only things that could be used to tell them apart was the boy on the left had a bandage on his chin, while the boy on the right wore glasses. He took a closer look, and realized something about the right-handed boy.

His hands had six fingers each.

"I-I-I don't understand" Dipper whispered, looking back up at Stan. "I thought your name was Stanford? Also, if… if this is real, where's your brother now."

Stan flinched, the looked down silently. Dipper waited, and after about a minute, he hear Grunkle Stan say "to answer both questions, I'm gonna have to start at the beginning, when me and Ford were just children.

 **AN: The following text will be taken mostly word for word from the episode 'Tale of Two Stans'. Italicized text is original text, coming from me.**

"It all started... a lifetime ago... nineteen sixty something. Glass Shard Beach, New Jersey. I lived with my Ma and Pa in the Lead Paint District in the family pawn shop.

Dad was a strict man. Tough as a cinderblock and not easily impressed. _Especially not with me_.

Ma was a pathological liar, which served her well as a phone psychic.

And then there was my nerdy twin brother, Stanford. As if his abnormally high IQ wasn't enough, he also had a rare birth defect: six fingers on each hand. Which might have explained his obsession with sci-fi mystery weirdness.

As for me, I had what mom liked to call: personality. _I was a real handful back then, always up to no good. Heh. Suppose I'm still like that, even to this day._

But as different as _me and Ford_ were, we were the perfect team, and every day we'd wander the beach, looking for adventure.

 _Yeah,_ those were the good times. Those bullies _we had back then_ may have been right about us not making many friends, but when push comes to shove, you only really need one.

Ford's brains seemed to get more impressive every year. So did our pet project, _the Stan-O-War. A boat in which we'd travel the world, just the two of us._ Sure, I got in more than my fair share of trouble, but when your brother's the smartest kid in school, you've always got a leg up on the competition.

The future was lookin' bright. For both of us. Till one day… _Ford and I were called down to the principal's office. Ford was told to go in, while I waited outside. From where I was sitting, I could hear everything, and what I heard… worried me._

 _The principal told our parents that Ford was incredibly gifted, a genius, a potential millionaire. He was being offered a scholarship at West Coast Tech for his science fair project. They were both impressed._

 _When Ma asked about me… the principal called me a clown._ 'He'll be lucky to graduate high school' _he said._

 _Was I upset? A little. But I didn't care, because Ford would always have my back._

 _Or at least, I thought so. Turns out, Ford was excited about the offer. Sure, he said he come with me treasure-hunting on the Stan-O-War, like we'd always said, but I knew better._ Without Ford, I was just half of a dynamic duo. I couldn't make it without him. And now, thanks to that dumb college, I was gonna lose my brother forever.

 _That night, I made my second biggest mistake; in my anger, I damaged Ford's project. I tried to fix it, but it didn't work. My brother was denied the scholarship. When he found out it was my fault, he turned his back on me, while Pa threw me out of the house._ Thanks to one dumb mistake I had no brother, no home, no nothing. But I had a plan to fix everything.

I had decided I wasn't gonna show my face at home until I made something of myself. Unfortunately, the treasure-hunting business was slow going. Apparently gold was some kind of... rare metal. Luckily I struck a different kind of gold... in sales. _The first product I had were the Shammies, which were supposed to clean stains. It didn't work out to well._ Apparently the cheap dye I used to color them only made stains worse. Customers went crazy about that. Fortunately they were using Stan Co. brand pitchforks.

I was officially banned from New Jersey, but with a quick name change, Steve Pinington was ready to take on Pennsylvania. _My next product was the Rip-Off, an easy-to-remove bandage that wouldn't give you rashes._

… It gave ya rashes.

I traveled the whole country, sometimes outside of it, always one step ahead of the law, looking for something that would be my big break.

 _Honestly… those years were the worst of my life. I was banned from State after state, constantly on the move. Eventually, I had to rely on scratch tickets to survive. Then, out of the blue, I received a postcard from Ford, who was asking for help. Hoping to make up for my mistake, I went._

 _When I got there, Ford was, well, not doin' so well. He actually pointed a crossbow at while screaming_ 'Who is it?! Have you come to steal my eyes?!'

 _Ford brought me down here. He said the machine was dangerous, and that he was hiding the journals, which explained how to operate it, and he needed me toke take the first journal, and take it as far away as possible._

 _I was really mad to hear that. Ford finally wanted to see me, only to tell me to get as far away from him as possible? I was ticked. We got into an argument. I tried to burn the journal, and when Ford tried to stop me, we got into a scuffle. During our fight, we must have accidentally turned the portal on. Ford kicked me into the side of a control panel, and I got a symbol branded into my back. He tried to apologise, but I just shoved him back, further and further, until he started to get sucked up into the portal. Ford had just enough time to throw me the journal before he was gone._

I'd lost him. I didn't know if he was dead or alive in some distant galaxy, but I knew his journal must have the answer to getting him back. Somehow.

I tried for weeks to turn that dumb machine back on. But without the other two journals, it was hopeless.

Finally I ran out of food. I had no choice but to go into town. _The locals actually thought I was Stanford, and, having no money, pretended I was. I took a tour of people up here, and actually managed to make a decent amount of cash._

I came up with a plan. I couldn't leave my brother's house until I figured out how to save him, but I needed to pay his mortgage somehow. For once in my life, people were actually buying what I was selling. And so the Murder Hut was born! Later renamed the Mystery Shack. Finally I found something I was good at. For once being a liar and a cheat paid off. The old me was dead, and I'd faked a car crash to prove it. By day I was Stanford Pines: Mr. Mystery. But by night I was down in the basement, trying to bring the real Stanford back. I couldn't risk anyone learning the truth and sabotaging my mission, so I lied to everyone: the town, my family, your parents, even you kids.

 **AN: The borrowed text segment is over. We now return to our regularly scheduled programming.**

"Or at least, that **was** the plan. So, Dipper, if I've answered all your questions, how about you and we're mine. How. Did. You. Know?"

To say Dipper was shocked would be understating it a little. He still had so many questions, even more than before… but he knew he couldn't find the answers through Stan. He had all his previous queries answered; what he had left was a man whom made a terrible mistake, and had spent the last thirty years trying to rectify that mistake. Grunkle Stan could be trusted.

(In the back of Dipper's mind, he was drawing a disturbing amounts of parallels between Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford, in comparison to Mabel and himself. He was trying to ignore said parallels, as he didn't want to think about what that might mean for the future of their relationship.)

So Dipper told Grunkle Stan everything… okay, almost everything. He told Stan about his previous timeline, starting from coming to Gravity Falls, all the way up to waking up for the second time on the bus. He didn't go into specifics about his many adventures, as he didn't want Stan to attract attention by improperly reacting.

He completely left out the part where he received a vision of his own future. The less people that knew about that little detail, the better.

Stan leaned back in his chair, rubbing his thumb over his chin. "Huh" he eventually grunted. "You've suffered a terrible fate, haven't you **(1)**. From what you've told me, you've been through quite a lot, kiddo. Gnomes, ghost, manotaurs, you've seen and done more than any kid should. I still feel your leaving a lot out. Probably for the best. Who knows what I'd do if I knew what you know."

Dipper let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. He was relieved that his Grunkle had understood his concerns. There was one thing that was still nagging at the back of his mind, when it suddenly came to him. "Grunkle Stan, what about the second journal?"

Stan gestured to the desk. "As you can see, I certainly don't have it, but according to your story, I will. That means somebody else probably has it, or at least, they will. Time travels confusing like that."

Dipper got out of his chair and began to pace back and forth, muttering under his breath, much to Stan's amusement. Suddenly, Dipper stopped pacing, snapped his fingers, and exclaimed "Gideon!"

"Gideon? The Gleeful kid? The one who has that sham tent, pretending to be a psychic? That Gideon?"

Dipper frowned at the doubt in his Grunkles' voice. "Yeah, that Gideon. It wasn't long after Gideon stole the deed to the Mystery Shack." Dipper heard Stan mumble 'that won't be happening' under his breath. "Mabel and I were on a bus heading back home, when Gideon chased us in a giant robotic version of himself. I remember him screaming at us to tell him where journal one was. Not journals one and two, just number one, meaning he **already** **had** journal number two. He probably thought my journal was journal number one".

A glimmer of hope appeared in Stan's eyes.

The two of them talked for what felt like hours, eventually coming up with a plan. Dipper knew that Gideon would eventually take an interest in Mabel (something that caused both men to shudder in revulsion), and that would be when they would strike. Grunkle Stan had at least two opportunities to get inside the Gleeful household while Gideon was out, giving him two different chances to check Gideon's room. Dipper, on the other hand, had a chance to get up close to Gideon, and see if he had the journal on him.

Neither were particularly happy at having to use Mabel, but both reasoned she'd be fine with it if she knew they were doing it to save a family member.

They also discussed on what and how they would tell the others, eventually deciding that Stan would bring everyone down here a day or two before the portal activated. Dipper would, of course, pretend to be just as surprised as everyone else.

Dipper yawned, covering his hand with his mouth. Stan chuckled. "All right champ, it's late. We should be getting to bed. Don't want people to start asking questions."

The two of them stood up, stretching their limbs. As they walked over to the lift, Grunkle Stan suddenly said "I'm gonna teach you boxing. It's handy, help you out in a fight. Might even get rid of your beanpole disposition."

"You'd really do that for me?"

"Of course." The lift doors opened, and they stepped inside. As the doors closed, Grunkle Stan added "plus, girls like men who are fit, so it should help Wendy notice you more."

A deep blush erupted on Dipper's face. "W-what?" He managed to croak out.

"Kid, don't both denying it, it's obvious from the way you talk about her that you care deeply for her. Anyone else, and I'd tell them they had absolutely no chance at all. You, on the other hand, I believe in. Your a good kid Dipper. Your kind, caring, passionate, and you respect women in general, putting you way ahead of the competition."

"You really think I have a shot?" Dipper asked as the lift doors opened, and they began to walk up the staircase.

Grunkle Stan nodded. "I do. You've been given a Hail Mary Pass, and we both know you ain't putting it to waste. Don't let her slip through you fingers."

As the two emerged from behind the vending machine, Dipper smiled, and said "thank you, Grunkle Stan. I'm glad we had this talk."

"Me too. Head on to bed now. We've got a lot of work to do tomorrow.*

"Goodnight Grunkle Stan."

"Goodnight Dipper."

Dipper quietly walked back up to the attic, opening and closing the door without making a sound. He tiptoed back to Mabel's bedside, where he took the grappling hook from within his vest, and placed it back where he had found it, glad he had not needed to use it. He took off his hat and vest, before slipping back into bed, pulling the sheets up to his chin.

Soon enough, Dipper was asleep, a small smile adorning his face.

 **(1)- Little reference there, LOZ gamers should recognize it.**

 **Hey guys, TheReaper51303 here! Thus ends the third chapter of this fanfic. Sorry for it being a little late, my muse wasn't cooperating for a while, but here it is! Next chapter would have been a combined, condensed form of LoTG and HH, but I got some advice, and my muse won't let it rest, so WTFN? See you then!**

 **Next time on Gravity Falls-Once More: Chapter three- Memories Suck**


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